Seventy-four percent of small businesses in Prince George are concerned about the cost and tax impact city hall has on their business – an increase of 15 points when compared to 2022.
That’s according to a survey from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business as the northern capital ranks third behind Kelowna and Victoria where the cost of their local government is a top concern.
Senior Policy Analyst, Kalith Nanayakkara told MyPGNow.com with the province facing an entrepreneurial drought with more businesses closing than opening, its important for local governments to ease the burden so that small businesses can stay open.
“Sixty-six cents of every dollar spent locally stays in the local economy and if you compare that to shopping at a big box store or an international one, only about eight to eleven cents stays. It is in everyone’s best interests to keep costs manageable for small businesses.”
“We have seen the number of small business exits outpace the number of small businesses opening. We are entrepreneurial drought where the number of businesses closing is outpacing the businesses that are opening.”
Nanayakkara believes cities like Prince George have a spending problem and not a revenue. He stated its up to current and future councils to be a little more ruthless on how they spend their money.
“What we are encouraging local governments to do is have a look at your own spending and see where they can drawback spending and figure out the value they are getting for taxpayers dollars and figure out what it should be. We are also calling on local governments to work with other levels of government to make sure there is an open conversation about what local governments can take on.”
Cities like Vancouver saw a 13% decline in cost concerns mostly due to the zero percent property tax freeze that was implemented.
A link to the full list and report can be found here.
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